Abstract
In 2015, Ethiopia experienced one of its worst droughts in decades. Using nationally representative data from before and after the event, we do not find evidence that this drought led to widespread increases in chronic or acute child undernutrition. However, further analysis indicates that chronic undernutrition rates did increase in drought-exposed areas that had a limited road network. This finding suggests that the recent investments in road infrastructure in Ethiopia may have contributed towards better resilience against droughts.
Highlights
Recent research in the area of climate change suggests that droughts will become more frequent phenomena in many sub-Saharan African countries (Dai 2013)
We find that the drought had a negative impact on child undernutrition rates in districts characterized by poor primary road network
Our results suggest that the 2015 drought in Ethiopia did not lead to widespread increases in chronic or acute child undernutrition rates
Summary
Recent research in the area of climate change suggests that droughts will become more frequent phenomena in many sub-Saharan African countries (Dai 2013). One of the key questions that these developing country governments and the development community faces is how to build resilience against these recurrent weather anomalies. This question is relevant for Ethiopia – a country still remembered by the drought-triggered famines in the 1970s and early 1980s. Other research shows how less widespread rainfall shocks in 1990s had a considerable – and persistent – impact on child growth outcomes (Yamano, Alderman, and Christiaensen 2005) and household consumption (Dercon 2004; Dercon, Hoddinott, and Woldehanna 2005; Porter 2012) in rural Ethiopia
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